2012 Ellison Cross, Rochester, NY

This past weekend I raced a 2 day Cyclocross race in Rochester, NY. There are a few reasons why this race was a big deal to me. First off, Rochester is my home town. My family is there. Secondly, its the first race of the season, and my first on a geared bike (last year I raced a single speed). Third, I have been racing road for Cicli Devotion, but this is my first Cyclocross race for the team.

My teammate Johnny and Myself rented a Suburban and threw our shit in for the trip. Seriously, we just threw everything in. We could have fit 6 bikes and 6 passengers in that thing. It made for a comfortable ride although putting gas in the tank made my wallet cry.

The first day we woke up to rain. We both knew it was going to be a sketchy race. We arrived at Ellison park, registered and did a test run of the course. There was a lot of climbing. Just doing a practice lap I was pretty surprised how much it took out of me. I knew right there that riding this course with my 1x10 was going to be a bitch. Johnny was on his singlespeed, and I can't imagine how much that sucked.

At the start, I took hold of the second position and held onto it for awhile. There was a log barrier that I bunny hopped during practice without an issue. On the first lap I hopped it, my tire hit it and I slid and fell. The racer behind me basically jumped over me, and by the time I got up and going I was in 4th place. I held 4th place pretty strong. After a dirt run up, I dropped my chain, got passed and stuck in 5th. This is how I ended my 1st day. 5th place isn't bad. Actually I felt great about it despite my mishaps.

On day 2 I was feeling great. Maybe it was that I already knew what to expect, or what I ate for breakfast. I never really know what to attribute my race mood to, but I am slowly figuring out what works for me and what doesn't. I know I ate a shitload of food the night before and didn't follow my normal nutrition guidelines. I just ate whatever was thrown in front of me.

I took the holeshot and was out front for a bit. I let back and got passed by a few people early in the first lap. My teammate Johnny was hammering out in front of me. I can't believe he was mashing these climbs on a singlespeed. I worked my way up into 4th place. Eventually I closed in on the rider in front of me and passed him before I hit the second lap.

On the second lap, the number 2 position and I were very close for awhile. There were a couple times where I probably could have made a pass. In retrospect I wish I did. About half way through the last lap I looked back and could not see anyone, and 2nd place had a good gap on me. I knew I had 3rd locked down and I just held my ground until the end.

I was really stoked on how it panned out, how I felt, and how I rode. It was awesome to have my family there, and podium in my home town. Shit, it was just good to podium! So this starts my 2012 CX season. I hope it continues on this path. Most of our team will be at Nittany Cross this weekend, and I am really looking forward to it!

My first CX Podium!

I was lucky to have my brother there with his camera. He got a bunch of shots of us on both days. Those photos are :HERE:

My photos are mostly of the Elite Men's and Womens races on day 1. Find those :HERE:

I did a small set of black and whites which can be seen below or :HERE:

And lastly if you are on instagram check the hashtags #rochestercx and #cdcx for some photos along the way.

Click to enlarge: